ÀÖ²¥´«Ã½ at Boulder faculty and staff drive to campus less, hold fewer campus parking permits and ride RTD, Skip and Hop buses more since the university initiated an EcoPass program for its employees
Jan. 1.
The pilot program allows unlimited free rides on all RTD buses, including the Skip and Hop services, for more than 5,600 full-time and part-time faculty and staff at CU-Boulder. The program was made possible through a partnership between the university, the city of Boulder and RTD.
As of April 9, 70 CU-Boulder faculty and staff members, or about 2.8 percent of the approximately 2,500 holding campus parking permits, had given up those permits, citing the new bus pass program as the reason for their cancellation.
"That's a little higher than we had expected in this short time-frame," said Capt. Joe Roy of CU-Boulder Parking Services.
While administrators hope the bus pass program will take the pressure off campus parking lots, particularly in the core area, and delay the need for another parking structure on campus, they also expect to see many employees retain their parking passes while riding the bus one or more days a week.
Results of an RTD telephone survey conducted in February indicate faculty and staff ridership on RTD, Skip and Hop buses is increasing, while the percentage of staff who park on campus is declining.
The survey, taken of 480 Boulder campus faculty and staff, shows they reported riding RTD an average of .58 days a week, up from .43 days a week last year. Ridership on the Skip also increased, from an average of .09 days a week before the EcoPass was implemented to .19 days a week after it was implemented. Hop ridership increased from an average of .02 days a week before the program to .05 days a week after.
The survey further shows that the percentage of faculty and staff who report holding a CU parking permit fell from 59 percent to 52 percent after the EcoPass program was implemented. And the average number of days faculty and staff reported parking a vehicle on campus fell from 2.81 days to 2.55 days.
Roy noted that the results come early in the program, and said a follow-up survey is planned for November.
"WeÂ’re pleased with the progress so far," he said. "We really want to see what comes out of the next survey to measure long-term success."
"We get a whole lot of positive comments about the program -- if thatÂ’s any indicator," he added. "One person from Littleton said the EcoPass was a major stress-reliever in his life. He was euphoric about it."
The introduction of the program by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Administration and Parking Services will be recognized with an award at the April 20-21 Campus Earth Summit, which honors individuals and departments who have demonstrated a sincere commitment to improving the environment.